Electronic device having movable display and hinge thereof

ABSTRACT

A hinge for mounting a rotating member to a main body, includes a shaft, a first interfering member fitting about the shaft and fixed to the rotating member, a container fitting about the shaft and fixed to the main body, and a second interfering member retained around the shaft and non-rotatably received in the container.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Relevant subject matter is disclosed in co-pending U.S. patentapplications (application Ser. No. 12/268,422; Attorney Docket No.US21856, filed on Nov. 10, 2008 and entitled “ELECTRONIC DEVICE HAVINGMOVABLE DISPLAY”, Attorney Docket No. US22582, and entitled “ELECTRONICDEVICE HAVING MOVABLE DISPLAY”), which are assigned to the same assigneeas this patent application. The disclosure of the co-pendingapplications is incorporated herein by references.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to electronic devices, and particularlyto an electronic device having a movable display and a hinge of theelectronic device.

2. Description of Related Art

Electronic devices, such as portable phones, personal digital assistants(PDAs) etc. are becoming more and more popular. Most electronic devicesare often equipped with displays for displaying information.

Some electronic devices have displays that are both rotatable andslidable relative to main bodies of the electronic devices. One suchelectronic device has a display that firstly slides to a predeterminedposition, and then rotates at this position. A hinge is usually used torotatably mount the display to the main body of the electronic device.However, the hinge is generally mounted to the display and the main bodyvia many screws. Usually, these screws are so small that it is difficultto install them. It is laborious and time-consuming to manipulate thescrews.

Therefore, an electronic device which overcomes the above-describeddeficiencies is desired.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an assembled, isometric view of an exemplary embodiment of anelectronic device, the electronic device including a main body and adisplay.

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1, but with the display in a differentposition.

FIG. 3 is an exploded, isometric view of the electronic device of FIG.1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, isometric view of part of FIG. 3, showing arotating member with sleeves, two positioning members, and two hinges.

FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 4, but viewed from another perspective.

FIG. 6 is an exploded, isometric view of one hinge and one sleeve of therotating member of the electronic device of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is a partially assembled, isometric view of the hinge and thesleeve of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 6, but viewed from another perspective.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, an exemplary embodiment of an electronicdevice, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), includes a display10, a main body 20, a sliding piece 12 mounted to the back of thedisplay 10, a rotating member 30 pivotably mounted to the main body 20,two hinges 40, and two positioning members 50. The display 10 isslidable and rotatable with respect to the main body 20.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a top portion of the main body 20 defines areceiving groove 21 for receiving a side of the display 10. The mainbody 20 includes two first sleeves 22 located on a side of the groove21. Each first sleeve 22 axially defines a noncircular holding groove222 therein. A bottom side of the main body 20 defines two mountinggrooves 24. Each mounting groove 24 communicates with a correspondingholding groove 222.

Referring to FIG. 3 again, each of two opposite ends of the slidingpiece 12 includes a sliding rail 122.

There is a sliding groove 34 defined in each of two opposite ends of therotating member 30, to slidably receive the corresponding sliding rail122 of the sliding piece 12. Two second sleeves 32 are formed at abottom side of the rotating member 30. A noncircular holding hole 322 isaxially defined in each second sleeve 32.

The two hinges 40 are used to pivotably connect the rotating member 30and the main body 20.

Referring to FIGS. 6 to 8, each hinge 40 includes a shaft 41, acontainer 42, a first interfering member 44, a second interfering member45, a resilient member 46, and a fastener such as C-shaped clip 47.

The shaft 41 includes a post 411, a head 412 formed on a first end ofthe post 411, and a groove 414 defined in a second end of the post 411.

A large opening (not labeled) is defined in one end wall of thecontainer 42, and a small opening 424 is defined in an opposite end wall422. A cross-section of the container 42 is rectangular for convenientmounting of the container 42. In an alternative embodiment, thecontainer 42 may be differently shaped to enable convenient mounting inother devices.

The first interfering member 44 is configured to be secured in theholding hole 322 of the corresponding second sleeve 32. A cross sectionof the first interfering member 44 has a same shape and size as that ofthe holding hole 322. The first interfering member 44 includes a firstside 447 facing the second interfering member 45, and a second side 448opposite to the second interfering member 45. The first interferingmember 44 defines a through step hole that includes a great receivinghole 442 opposite to the second interfering member 50, and a smallthrough hole 441 communicating with the receiving hole 442 and facingthe second interfering member 50. The step hole extends through thefirst interfering member 44. The first side 447 forms two positioningtabs 444 adjacent to and symmetrical about the through hole 441. Eachpositioning tab 444 forms two slope surfaces 449 on opposite endsthereof connecting to the first side 447.

The second interfering member 45 is substantially square-shaped,configured to be non-rotatably fixed in the container 42. The secondinterfering member 45 defines a through hole 451 configured to allow thepost 411 of the shaft 41 being inserted therethrough. A side of thesecond interfering member 45 facing the first interfering member 40defines two recesses 452 corresponding to the positioning tabs 444 ofthe first interfering member 44. Each recess 452 forms two slopesurfaces 459 on opposites ends thereof connecting to the side of thesecond interfering member 45, for a corresponding positioning tab 444easily sliding into or sliding out of the recess 452.

In one embodiment, the resilient member 46 is a coil spring. In analternative embodiment, the resilient member 46 can be a resilientwasher.

A cutout 471 is defined in the clip 47. A plurality of tenons 472 areextended from the clip 47 into the cutout 471.

In assembly of the hinge 40, the resilient member 46 and the secondinterfering member 45 are placed in the container 42. A first end of theresilient member 46 resists against the end wall 422 of the container42, and a second end of the resilient member 46 resists against thesecond interfering member 45. The post 411 of the shaft 41 is insertedthrough the step hole of the first interfering member 44, the throughhole 451 of the second interfering member 45, the resilient member 46,and the opening 424 of the container 42. The positioning tabs 444 of thefirst interfering member 44 are positioned in the corresponding recesses452 of the second interfering member 45. The head 412 of the shaft 41 isreceived in the receiving hole 442 of the first interfering member 44,and the groove 414 of the post 411 is located outside of the container42 through the opening 424. The clip 47 is engaged in the groove 414 ofthe post 411, with the tenons 472 tightly clutching on the post 411. Thefirst interfering member 44 and the second interfering member 45 arecapable of rotating relative to each other.

In assembly, the rotating member 30 is placed on the top of the mainbody 20, with the holding holes 322 being in alignment with the holdinggrooves 222 of the main body 20. Each hinge 40 is placed into theholding groove 222 of the corresponding first sleeve 22 through thecorresponding mounting groove 24 from the bottom of the main body 20.The hinge 40 slides in the holding groove 222, with the firstinterfering member 44 being slid into the corresponding holding hole 322while the container 42 left in the holding groove 222. A correspondingpositioning member 50 is inserted into the holding groove 222 via thecorresponding mounting groove 24. The positioning member 50 is pressedon the container 42, and resists against a side of the hinge 40 to limitthe hinge 40 in the holding groove 222 and the holding hole 322. Twoscrews 60 are used to mount the positioning member 50 to the main body20. Thus, the rotating member 30 is pivotably mounted to the main body20 via the hinges 40.

The sliding piece 12 is mounted to the back of the display 10 via aplurality of screws. The sliding rails 122 of the sliding piece 12 slideinto the corresponding sliding grooves 34 of the rotating member 30.Accordingly, the display 10 is movably mounted to the main body 20 viathe sliding rails 122 sliding in the sliding grooves 34. When the bottomside of the display 10 is aligned with the receiving groove 21 of themain body 20, the rotating member 30 can be rotated on the main body 20to adjust an angle between the display 10 and the main body 20. Thebottom side of the display 10 is thus received in the receiving groove21 to avoid interfering with the main body 20.

To close the PDA, the display 10 is rotated on the main body 20 untilthe positioning tabs 444 of the first interfering member 44 are locatedin the corresponding recesses 452 of the second interfering member 45.At this position, the display 10 is parallel with the main body 20, asshown in FIG. 1. The display 10 slides until covering the main body 20.

In the above embodiments, the resilient member 46 assists to drive thepositioning tabs 444 to move into the corresponding recesses 452,bringing the display 10 parallel to the main body 20. Therefore, thedisplay 10 will not scratch the main body 20 when the display 10 slideson the main body 20.

Referring again to FIG. 3, in addition, a plurality of elastic elements70, such as tension springs, may be mounted between the sliding piece 12and the rotating member 30. When the display 10 is rotated relative tothe main body 20, the elastic elements 70 are distorted. When thedisplay 10 is rotated to be parallel to the main body 20, the elasticelements 70 restore to drive the display 10 to slide on the main body20.

It is to be understood, however, that even though numerouscharacteristics and advantages of the embodiments have been set forth inthe foregoing description, together with details of the structure andfunction of the embodiments, the disclosure is illustrative only, andchanges may be made in detail, especially in matters of shape, size, andarrangement of parts within the principles of the invention to the fullextent indicated by the broad general meaning of the terms in which theappended claims are expressed.

1. An electronic device comprising: a display; a rotating memberslidably mounted to the display; a main body; and a hinge mountedbetween the rotating member and the main body to pivotally mount therotating member to the main body; wherein the hinge comprises a shaft, afirst interfering member fitting about the shaft, and a container; thefirst interfering member is fixed to the rotating member; the main bodycomprises a first sleeve which defines a holding groove therein, thecontainer is held in the holding groove.
 2. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the hinge further comprises a second interfering memberfitting about the shaft and mounted in the container, the firstinterfering member comprises a first side facing the second interferingmember, the first side forming at least one positioning tab, the secondinterfering member comprises a second side facing the first interferingmember and defining at least one recess configured to allow the at leastone positioning tab to be positioned therein.
 3. The electronic deviceof claim 2, further comprising a positioning member, wherein the mainbody defines a mounting groove communicating with the holding groove,the positioning member is inserted into the holding groove via themounting groove to fix the container in the holding groove.
 4. Theelectronic device of claim 1, further comprising a sliding piece mountedto the display, wherein the sliding piece comprises two sliding rails atopposite sides thereof, and the rotating member defines two slidinggrooves for slidably receiving the corresponding sliding rails.
 5. Theelectronic device of claim 4, wherein a plurality of elastic elementsare mounted between the sliding piece and the rotating member, to assistthe display to slide on the rotating member.
 6. The electronic device ofclaim 2, wherein the container comprises an end wall, a hole is definedin the end wall for the shaft being inserted therethrough.
 7. Theelectronic device of claim 6, wherein the hinge further comprises aresilient member fitting about the shaft, a first end of the resilientmember resists against the end wall of the container, and a second endof the resilient member resists against the second interfering member.8. The electronic device of claim 7, wherein the hinge further comprisesa fastener, the shaft comprises a head formed on a first end of theshaft, and a groove defined in a second end of the shaft, the fastenerclasps the shaft in the groove to mount the first interfering member,the second interfering member, the resilient member, and the containerbetween the fastener and the head of the shaft.
 9. The electronic deviceof claim 8, wherein the first interfering member defines a through stephole that comprises a great receiving hole opposite to the secondinterfering member for receiving the head of the shaft therein, and asmall through hole facing the second interfering member for the shaftbeing inserted therethrough.
 10. The electronic device of claim 2,wherein each of the at least one positioning tab forms two slopesurfaces on opposite ends thereof, and each of the at least one recessforms two slope surfaces on opposites ends thereof, corresponding to theslope surfaces of the corresponding one of the at least one positioningtab.
 11. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein a cross-section ofthe container is rectangular or other noncircular shaped for convenientmounting the container to the rotating member.
 12. The electronic deviceof claim 1, wherein the rotating member comprising a second sleeveformed at a bottom side thereof, a noncircular holding hole is axiallydefined in the second sleeve, a cross section of the first interferingmember has a same shape and size as that of the holding hole configuredto be secured in the holding hole of the second sleeve.
 13. A hinge formounting a rotating member to a main body, comprising: a shaft; a firstinterfering member fitting about the shaft, and fixed to the rotatingmember; a container fitting about the shaft, and fixed to the main body;and a second interfering member retained around the shaft, andnon-rotatably received in the container.
 14. The hinge of claim 13,wherein the first interfering member comprises a first side facing thesecond interfering member, the first side forming at least onepositioning tab, the second interfering member comprises a second sidefacing the first interfering member and defining at least one recessconfigured to allow the at least one positioning tab to be positionedtherein.
 15. The hinge of claim 13, wherein the shaft comprises a head,the first interfering member comprise a first side facing the secondinterfering member and a second side opposite to the first side, thefirst interfering member defines a through step hole that comprises agreat receiving hole through the second side and a small through holethrough the first side and communicating with the receiving hole, thereceiving hole receives the head of the shaft therein, the through holeallows the shaft being inserted therethrough.
 16. The hinge of claim 13,wherein the container comprises an end wall, a hole is defined in theend wall for the shaft being inserted therethrough.
 17. The hinge ofclaim 16, wherein the hinge further comprises a resilient memberretained around the shaft, a first end of the resilient member resistsagainst the end wall of the container, and a second end of the resilientmember resists against the second interfering member.
 18. The hinge ofclaim 17, wherein the hinge further comprises a fastener, a head isformed on a first end of the shaft, and a groove is defined in a secondend of the shaft, the fastener clasps the shaft in the groove to limitthe first interfering member, the second interfering member, theresilient member, and the container between the fastener and the head ofthe shaft.
 19. The hinge of claim 18, wherein the fastener defines acutout, a plurality of tenons is extended from the fastener into thecutout, to clutch on the shaft.
 20. The hinge of claim 13, wherein across-section of the container is rectangular or other noncircularshaped for convenient mounting the container, a cross section of thefirst interfering member is noncircular shaped configured to be secured.